Blog Tour: 10 Things I Can See From Here

A Poignant YA Novel that Addresses Anxiety with Humor and Grace

10 Things I Can See from Here

by Carrie Mac

★ “With Maeve, Mac delivers a character who’s heartwarmingly real and sympathetic, and her story provides a much-needed mirror for anxious queer girls everywhere.”—Kirkus, Starred review

“This is a good companion book for other anxiety-riddled stories, such as The Shattering by Karen Healey and Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella.”—Booklist

“Mac is good at showing how a dread-filled mind works. . . . [An] affecting story.”—Publishers Weekly

 Self-deprecating, nuanced, and real, 10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers | On sale February 28, 2017 | Ages 14 and up | $17.99) by award-winning author Carrie Mac explores the complexities of mental illness with wit, honesty, and sincerity. At once profound and delightfully humorous, this  coming-of-age novel deftly explores anxiety and falling in love for the first time. 

Think positive. Don’t worry, be happy. Keep calm and carry on. Maeve has heard it all before. She’s been struggling with severe anxiety for a long time, and as much as she wishes it were something she could just talk herself out of, it’s not. When Maeve is sent to Vancouver to live with her dad, her very pregnant stepmom, and her twin six-year-old half brothers, she struggles to rise to the challenge. 

Vancouver brings a wide array of new worries, but Maeve finds brief respite—as well as even more worries—in Salix, a local girl who doesn’t seem to worry about anything. Though the summer includes  catastrophes than even Maeve could never have foreseen, she is able to reach inside herself to find the courage to be there for the ones she loves.

With an exciting love story and a raw, emotional core, 10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE 

is a poignant and uplifting novel perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell and Sophie Kinsella.

CARRIE MAC is an award-winning Canadian novelist making her US debut. She lives in East Vancouver, where this story takes place. Check out her website at Carriemac.com and follow her on Twitter at @CarrieMacWrites. 

10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE

by Carrie Mac

An Alfred A Knopf Books for Young Readers hardcover

Hardcover: 978-0-399-55625-8 | On sale February 28, 2017 | $17.99 | $23.99 Can. | 320 pages | Ages 14 and up

Ebook: 978-0-399-55627-2 | $10.99

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Top 10 Books That Inspire Me by Carrie Mac

I have been staring at this question for weeks. 

Weeks. 

Whenever I get asked what my favorite book is, or even my top five- or ten favorite books are, or my favorite book in a particular genre, or my favorite book this week, I feel like I’m being asked to choose which kittens to save from a house on fire. And I can’t save them all. 

So I will choose ten, and I will fail. I’ll choose ten, and behind every title, let’s say that there is a souped-up bookmobile following it around, with all the books I didn’t choose. I love these ten books, but I love a million more. 

I’m not even kidding. 

A million more. 

From The Notebooks of Melanin Sun – Jacqueline Woodson

Bastard Out of Carolina – Dorothy Allison

This one Summer – Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman

Lives of Girls & Women – Alice Munro

Walk Two Moons – Sharon Creech

Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi

Hiroshima No Pika – Maruki Toshi

Harriet the Spy – Louise Fitzhugh

A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini

I was going to write a note about each one, stating why I chose it for the list. But when I look at the titles, I realize that they inspire me for all the same reasons. They are evocative of place, time, atmosphere, and most importantly of all, character. The characters from these books are still with me today, as fully realized people who truly lived the story, which is a testament to what each of these writers and artists created—books that became part of who I am, as a writer and a reader and a person on the planet. 

I have one set of bookshelves in the tiny home I share with my family. I don’t keep many books, which many people find odd for a writer. I read books. I write books. I love books. But I don’t keep many of them, and so it’s very hard to decide what stays and what goes. But those books on the list always stay. Always.

So, this is my armful of sooty kittens for today. Each one of them is absolutely precious. Please check out the bookmobile on your way home and take a book or two. 

And a kitten.